Six Years Later
by The Crazy Breadstick
Summary: While waiting for Jack on their six year anniversary, Ianto reflects on how they met and how they fell in love. A Janto one-shot gift for Xx-silent-assassin-xX


_Here's my long awaited birthday gift to my best friend **Xx-silent-asssassin-xX**! I hope it was worth the wait! I'm not sure if I'm any good with romance, but I guess we'll have to see! I've been working on this for quite a while and I am sorry this didn't come out when it should have on August 24th, but college has been a lot crazier than I had expected. I don't have much more to say other than enjoy!_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood. It belongs to the BBC. **

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7:47…

With a flick of his wrist, Ianto Jones closed his pocket watch and slipped it back into an inner pocket of his posh dapper suit. Nearly two hours had passed since the young Welshman had entered Cicciotti's, a high-end Italian restaurant that's reputation for excellent food and service made it so esteemed that reservations had to be made months in advanced for a table. He was still waiting for his date and as the time slowly ticked by, Ianto's worries were beginning to increase. It wasn't unlike his boyfriend to be late, but this was a very special day! He didn't understand what could be keeping him.

Boyfriend… after all this time, Ianto still wasn't used to the idea. He had never seen himself anything but straight. He had liked girls, no, he **still** liked girls. He knew that for a fact. However, there was just something about his boyfriend Jack Harkness that caused him to change his mind. The eccentric American was by far the only man he had ever found or would find attractive.

Smiling to himself, the Welshman took a sip of his wine. Today was the anniversary of the first time they had met. Six years ago, on this exact day, Ianto met Jack. He could remember it like it was yesterday, really. He had been twenty year old at the time, studying law in London. Times were rough then. Between the recent death of his father and his high school sweetheart, Lisa Hallett, breaking up with him, he has a lot on his mind. He had tried to bury himself in his studies, but sometimes that just didn't work like he had hoped it would. To make a few extra pounds, Ianto took on a bartending job at night club, located next to the campus. The job wasn't too bad; it had its perks. The tips were rather good! However, the drama that sometimes occur (more like always) was rather nasty and Ianto had made it a goal to stay far away from it.

That night had been one of the busy ones. With so many people coming and going, Ianto hadn't been paying too much attention to the faces, just the orders and the alcohol he was mixing. It had been around 11 when he noticed a certain someone staring at him intently.

"_And what would you like to drink, sir?" Ianto asked the new patron when he noticed the male's intense gaze._

_Said male flashed Ianto a charismatic grin (no doubt one he used to pick up girls) and he leaned forward, propping his arm up against the counter. "Why yes, I'll have one Sex on the Beach, please," there was a slight pause before his grin grew, "if you'll have a Screaming Orgasm with me."_

_The normal small friendly smile that Ianto wore for all his customers collapsed into an expression of shock. Did this man just _**flirt**_ with him?! Ianto tried to regain his composure, stumbling over his word, "I-I'm sorry? You _what_?"_

"_I want to have Sex on the Beach with you having a Screaming Orgasm," the man repeated, still grinning from ear to ear. _

_He _was_ flirting with him! Shamelessly too! It might be different if the man was drunk; that sort of thing happened quite often. But he was clearly sober! Ianto began to frown now, not particularly amused._

"_That's harassment, sir."_

_The man before him began to laugh now, apparently finding this quite amusing. Ianto, however, did not find this amusing in the slightest. Was he just mocking him now? Ianto was about to call over security to remove him from the club. However, the man stopped laughing and warmly smiled at Ianto. _

"_I wasn't trying to insult you, if that's what you're thinking. I was merely trying to flirt with you," the man apologized, "you're quite handsome, you know."_

_Ianto still wasn't amused and said, "That's nice to know, but I don't swing that way, so please don't flirt with me. Now what would you like to drink?"_

_The man began to rub his chin in thought before he ordered, "How about… the strongest stuff you got?"_

_Ianto studied the man to make sure he was serious. With no sign of him not being serious, Ianto sighed lightly and began to make his drink. While he did, the man began to make friendly conversation with him. _

_"My name's Jack. Captain Jack Harkness, to be exact. What about you, Tiger Pants?" he asked, as Ianto set his drink down._

_"Tiger Pants?" Ianto asked, incredibly. "You're calling me Tiger Pants now?"_

_"Well, you're wearing tight tiger-striped pants... and no offense, but it doesn't help you argument of not being gay," Jack mused, picking up his drink._

_Ianto glanced down at his clothes. No, he supposed it didn't. Wearing a white cut off t-shirt that said 'Superstar!' in neon green and orange and pink tiger stripped pants would support newly named Jack's assumption. He had a very good reason for wearing this though!_

_"One of my flat mates thought it would be funny to replace all of my clothes this morning," he defended, "And the name's Jones, Ianto Jones."_

_"Well then Ianto Jones, cheers!" Jack grinned, raising his drink in a mock fashion before swallowing it down with a grimace._

_For about an hour more, Ianto listened to the man boast about having been in the Air Force, how he was studying abroad to finally get a degree, and other feats, such as when he went sky diving and snorkeling. He bought quite a few women drinks and disappeared every once in a while to go dancing. He left around 1:30 and when he did, Ianto was rather thankful because he could concentrate easier on the other customers. _

Ianto sighed lightly, looking at now empty wine glass. At the time he had hoped to never see that man again. He knew he would show up again at the club, as it was obvious from the way Jack had talked to him all night. He figured he would see him as soon as the next day! However, that wasn't the case. He saw him even _sooner_ than that.

_Closing up for the night always took a while on Saturdays. There were always a few stragglers that refused to leave and a huge mess to clean up. Though it was normally cleaned up in the morning before they reopened, Ianto liked to make sure his own station was clean. It wasn't like he _had_ to; it was just easier that way. So, instead of leaving at 3 like everyone else, he left around 3:30. That was ok by him though; his flat really wasn't that far away. That was a considerably good thing since he walked. _

_On his way out through the back door, as the front be locked by now, he noticed something strange and aggravating. The alley that the door led out to was trashed, and not it's normal 'I'm an alley so I'm trashed' look. The trash cans were knocked over and bottles were broken. Papers and trash were blown all about the place and it was just a mess! Knowing if he didn't pick some of it up now that he would have to later, the Welshman began turning the trash cans up right and carefully throwing some of the trash away. It wasn't very easy and with how dimly lit the alley was, he ended up tripping over something in the alley. _

_Stumbling, Ianto was lucky to the catch the wall. If he hadn't, he would have landed on some of the broken bottles and that could have been really bad. Sighing out in relief, he went to see what he had tripped over. Upon further examination, he was shocked and slightly horrified to see it was a person, curled up in a fetal position. Ianto scrambled over to them, to check and see if they were ok._

"_H-Hey! Are you all right?" he asked, lightly shaking them._

_The answer he received was simply a groan, but it meant that he was responsive. For that, Ianto was grateful. He struggled to get the man on his feet and out of the alley and that was certainly no easy task. He was practically dead weight, only being of some help when he occasionally stumbled forward. However, persistence prevailed and he was soon able to get him out of the alley and set him on a bench. It was only then that he saw who it was._

"_Jack?!" _

_Jack lifted his head wearily to look at the Welshman, indicating he was right. The man looked like death. He was dirty, his face, hands, and clothes covered with dark smudges from dirt. He had cuts on his hands, from the broken glass no doubt, and the makings of a rather nasty black eye forming along with his bloodied lip. Ianto wasn't sure what to say first: 'Why were you in an alley?' or 'Why do you look like you just went to Hell and back?'_

"_You have no idea how glad I am to see you," Jack said, wincing slightly from the pain he was in._

"_What happened?" Ianto asked, sitting down next to him._

_Jack chuckled lightly and said, "Let's just say, I flirted with the wrong girl and a couple of guys didn't like it. I would have won though! I just didn't see the trash can coming…" _

_Ianto wasn't sure what to say to him now. Should he say sorry or that it was his own fault for being a womanizer? At least he knew why the alley had been so trashed now. After a few moments of an awkward silence, Ianto stood. _

"_Come on then. We need to get you looked at," he explained to the confused looking American._

_Jack in turn only nodded and with a little difficulty rose to his feet. With Ianto's help, they went to his flat so that his flat mate could check him over. After all, he was going to medical school._

"Sir, would you like your check?"

A voice tore Ianto from his thoughts and when looked up, he saw the waiter who had been serving him standing there. Ianto pulled his pocket watch out again and saw it was now 8. Now it had been two hours…

With a warm smile, Ianto shook his head and said, "No, I think I'll wait a little longer, thank you."

A look that appeared to Ianto as a mix between annoyance and pity crossed the waiter's face for a split second before he simply nodded and filled his empty wine glass for him.

"Very well, sir. Please, let me know if you require anything."

Ianto watched the waiter leave before taking a sip of his wine. Two hours… he couldn't say that Jack had _never_ been late before, but the flashy American had never been this untimely with his arrival. He supposed he could wait just a little bit longer. The Welshman was sure that his boyfriend would have a good explanation.

Following that rather eventful night, Jack had returned almost every weekend for the next three months. Though he mainly kept himself occupied with flirting with the ladies (and a few gentlemen) and dancing on the dance floor, he made sure to strike up a conversation with Ianto every single time. It led to a rather interesting friendship and when Jack stopped coming around, the Welshman had felt oddly lonely.

A few months later, Ianto received his degree and with no word from Jack still, he moved to Cardiff, Wales. He moved into a small flat by himself and took on an accounting job at a large firm. Life for him collapsed into the same boring, mediocre routine soon thereafter. He practically lived for his work. Only when his old flat mates, Owen Harper and Rhys Williams, moved into Cardiff as well did he really have a social life to speak of and even that was small. If not for a completely random and unexpected phone call, he was sure he would have continued to live like that.

_It was very late in the night when a fresh techno-like beat penetrated Ianto's pleasant dreams and awoke the Welshman. It took a few minutes for the sleep to leave his eyes, but when it did, he could make out his cell phone and alarm clock in the darkness. The little flip phone was vibrating on the end table, the screen bright with an incoming call. The digital clock told him with dull red numbers that it was 3:17 A.M._

"_Jesus Christ…" he mumbled, tempted to roll over and ignore the call._

_Who was calling him at three in the morning? He had work in a few hours! He needed his sleep. Whoever was calling him better have a good damn reason for waking him up this early. If they needed to go to the hospital or if they had just been mugged, he'd understand. There were very little other reasons that would not make him aggravated._

_Reaching out, Ianto grabbed his phone and flipped it open. He held it to his ear and mumbled out a small, "Hello?"_

"_Hey there Ianto… I didn't wake you did I? I forgot the time difference between here and there."_

_The American accent was unmistakable; it only took Ianto a moment to recognize whose voice was on the other end of the phone._

"Jack?!"

"_The one and only! Who else do you know who sounds this sexy?"_

_Ianto had no doubt those words came with Jack's signature flashy grin. He was at a loss for words now. With a little over a year between the last time they spoke and now, there was a lot Ianto felt needed to be discussed. The first thing was quite obvious. _

"_Why haven't you called me before now? I was worried… You just disappeared! I mean, I know you'd eventually leave but you could have given me a little warning ahead of time. Why didn't you say something before you left?" _

_Silence met his questions. He expected as much, but as the silence continued he began to worry that Jack might have hung up from the pressure. However, in due time, Jack inhaled deeply to explain why._

"_I don't want to waste your time with petty excuse," Jack began, "So, I won't. The reason I didn't say goodbye is because that words just… feels too permanent. I knew if I said goodbye, I'd never see you again. I cherished our hopefully still existing friendship too much to do that to you. So… I didn't say good-bye."_

_It was now Ianto's turn to be silent as he pondered on Jack's reason for not saying goodbye. It was hard to believe him, but the American sounded genuine. _

"_I'm not sure why, but I'm going to accept that reason. Despite it sounding like it came straight from some sappy chick flick." _

"_Thank you," Jack paused for a moment, as if trying to find the right words, "That means a lot to me."_

"_That doesn't explain why you haven't tried to contact me until now," Ianto reminded him._

_Again Jack didn't say anything immediately. Ianto decided that he'd get out of bed and make some coffee. He was already too awake to go back to sleep and he had a feeling this call wouldn't end any time soon. Not that he wanted it to end. It was nice to hear from Jack after so long. _

"_Honestly? … I was afraid you would be mad at me for not saying goodbye and that you would be too mad to talk to me."_

_Ianto couldn't help but raise an eyebrow lightly as he entered the kitchen to begin making his coffee. Seriously? That's why he hadn't called for all this time? He was afraid Ianto would be mad at him?_

"_Do you have any idea how incredibly childish that sounds?"_

_With a sad chuckle, Jack agreed, "Yeah, it does sound rather childish."_

_Again, the conversation fell silent. Ianto watched his coffee brew, wondering what he should say next to Jack. He was glad Jack called him. Really, he was. Though the timing was less than idle, he was glad he had finally worked up the nerve to call. That being said, he wished it hadn't taken so long. It wasn't like he had changed his cell phone number. He had left a forwarding address as well, so he could have sent Ianto a letter of some sorts. Now that he thought about it, there was probably a reason why Jack was calling him now. He knew the time difference between the States and Cardiff wasn't too dreadfully far apart. It had to be close to midnight for him. _

"_Jack, why'd you call now of all times? Is something going on? Do you need help?"_

"_You know me all too well Tiger Pants," Jack chuckled, "Yeah, I need some help. I was hoping maybe you could, but if it's too much trouble then… well, don't worry about it then. I can handle myself."_

"_What is it Jack? You know I'll try and help you the best I can."_

"_Well… I know this is really sudden but… I want to leave America and move to London with you."_

_Ianto was quite floored by that request. It was completely unexpected and confusing. His mind was racing with various thoughts now and he was struggling to find what words to say to him now. Jack wanted to move to London? And not only that, but move to London to live with __**him**__? Ianto poured himself a now much needed cup of coffee._

"_First off," the Welshman began, "I don't live in London anymore. I live in Cardiff. It's in Wales." _

"_All the same. I don't care. Anywhere in the UK is fine with me." _

"_As long as I'm your flat mate, right?"_

"_Yep!"_

_Ianto paused and took a sip of his now cooler coffee. So he mainly just wanted to move in with him. It wasn't so much about moving to London or Cardiff as it was about him. He wasn't sure if he was flattered or slightly unnerved. _

"_Is there a reason to why you suddenly want to move in with me?"_

"_There is... but it's not something I'm comfortable going into detail about over the phone. I'd rather just wait until we're together."_

"_All right, I respect that."_

"_I'm glad! … so, that's a yes, right?"_

"_Let's talk a bit more. Then I'll make my decision."_

"_All right, sounds like a plan!"_

Their 'talk' continued on for at least two more hours. Ianto wasn't sure exactly how long it really was, but it was nice to catch up with Jack. … Even if he changed the subject on more than one occasion. At the end of it all, Ianto decided that he would more than happy to allow Jack to live with him in Cardiff. It took a few months for Jack to actually arrive but it couldn't have come sooner for the Welshman.

Initially, he was worried Jack wouldn't be able to adapt easily to life in Cardiff. That wasn't only because of the transition between the States and Wales, but the transition from life in a small town to the city. He was pleasantly surprised to see that it was really no issue for Jack and that in no time, he had friends (Owen seemed to get along with him the most; Rhys didn't seem too dreadfully fond of him) and a job with the Cardiff Police Department. He had to take some training first, but his prior military training and natural charm certainly helped him land the job. Ianto's life suddenly became less routine and for the first time in a long time, he was beginning to really enjoy himself.

Jack kept his word on telling Ianto why he wanted to leave home so desperately a month or so after he arrived. It was complicated and a combination of various things. It started off rather small; Jack had just come back from studying abroad and everyone seemed to treat him differently. He had thought nothing of it at the time and continued on with his life. The real trouble started when he came about his sexuality to his parents.

The 28 year old American never thought he'd have such a negative reaction from his family. His mother wouldn't speak to him and his father disowned him, declaring that Jack was no child of his if he was a faggot. He turned to his brother, who had always been there for and who he thought loved him no matter what and all he received was a harsh, cold stare of hatred. It had left Jack heartbroken. The news immediately spread around his small hometown and though some were accepting, many were not. His community was very close minded about his sexuality and it led to many bar fights and it became increasingly hard for Jack to hold a job not only because immediate prejudice, but because of the constant fights he would get into. Ianto had never seen Jack cry before, but the night Jack cried and even now, Ianto remembered holding his dear friend close as a man he had thought was unbreakable collapsed and soaked his shirt with his tears.

Ianto wasn't exactly sure how long it took or how it happened, but somewhere along the road, the Welshman realized that he had feelings for Jack. He wasn't sure if it was love. He figured it was because he remembered these feelings from when he had been with Lisa, except it was an even greater feeling that when he had been with Lisa. Just being around Jack made his day and he laughed over Jack's stupid jokes and got all flustered and had fuzzy feelings whenever Jack was very close to him. He knew it must be love, but it was hard to think that he, a straight man, could be in love with his best friend. Because of his conflicting thoughts and emotions about suddenly feeling this way about a man he had met at night club in college, he never told him. It took a night full of alcohol before the ice was even thawed. That morning had been quite a shocker.

"_Jack?! What happened last night?!"_

_Waking from his drunken slumber, Ianto had been greeted with the sight of Jack's peaceful sleeping face, the American's arms wrapped around him possessively and a rather sore bum. Not to mention he didn't have any clothes on. He had a reason for being startled and demanded to know the reason behind his current state. Jack yawned and stretched out in the bed (Jack's bed to be exact), trying to wake up a bit more. He propped himself up on one arm and Ianto slightly adverted his eyes from Jack's nakedness._

"_What happened? A lot happened last night," Jack purred, smiling warmly and flirtatiously to the flustered Welshman, "I'd say the most memorable part would be the fun we had in bed… or maybe when you yelled at a girl for flirting with me..."_

_Ianto's reaction was slightly delayed, but not any less explosive._

"_We did __**what**__?" _

"_Oh yeah~ Do you have any idea how good you are? You're the best I've ever had! Even if it was your first time, you didn't seem to enjoy it."_

"_No! __**No!**__ We did __**not**__ have sex!" Ianto exclaimed, refusing to believe his claim. _

"_Ianto, we did. Why do you think we're both naked?" Jack asked._

"_Why in the hell did we have sex?!" _

_Confusion crossed Jack's face at the question and the American said, "Because you wanted to… you were the one who was all good to go and instigated it. … you didn't forget about last night, did you?"_

"_I __**wanted**__ to?! Are you __**kidding**__ me?!" Ianto demanded, "Tell me you're lying to me!"_

"_I'm not lying to you…" Jack said, a frown becoming prominent of his face, "Look, Ianto, I know this might seem like a bad thing, but it's not!"_

"_How is this not a bad thing?!" Ianto snapped as he got out of bed and began searching for his clothes._

"_It meant something to me!" Jack explained frantically, scrambling out of the bed. "Ianto, it wasn't just drunk sex for me! I love you!"_

_Ianto stopped what he was doing. He was unsure if he had heard his flat mate right and looked at his dear friend warily. For all he knew, Jack could by lying to him about that just trying to calm him down and… it just didn't seem true._

"_You what?"_

"_I love you, Ianto," Jack repeated, going to the Welshman cautiously, "I've loved you for a very long time. I've loved you even before I had to leave to return for America. It's why I didn't say goodbye. It wasn't just because I didn't want to never see a friend again; it was because I didn't want to not see the man I loved again. I called you before anyone else when I was at my breaking point because I loved you and I wanted to be with you. Please understand that even though we were both thoroughly smashed, our time together last night wasn't 'nothing'. It meant a lot to me Ianto. Please tell me you feel the same, or at least you feel __**something!**__"_

"_I feel sore," he bluntly stated as he pulled his pants on and buttoned them."… for a month now I've… felt something. But I haven't been sure if it's love. I can't say that I love you, Jack, but I do feel something."_

"_Feeling something is good! We can work with that! Even if it doesn't work out in the end, I'd want nothing more than a chance to be together with you. Can we try to be together?"_

_All the confused man could do was nod and grunt as he was tackled to the ground by Jack in a giant bear hug._

"Ianto! I'm so sorry I'm late! I had something I had to do and it took a lot longer than I thought it would."

Ianto snapped from his reminiscing and was a little startled to see Jack sitting across from him now, looking rather worried. He was in a rather dashing suit (which Jack would normally never wear if he was given a choice) and to the younger man's relief, he seemed relatively unharmed. For that, he was glad. He had really begun to think something had happened Jack.

"You're late. Considerably late," Ianto said, checking his pocket watch to see how late in the evening it was now.

"I know. Sorry about that. Like I said, I got caught up in something I was doing and lost track of time," Jack sighed.

Ianto smiled lightly and said, "It's all right. You're here now, so the evening isn't ruined."

"Right!" Jack agreed, flashing a grin.

The two proceeded to order food when their rather snooty waiter came back by; looking rather surprised that Jack arrived at all and also perhaps because he was a man. Their dinner continued without a hitch. They talked about work and each other's social lives. Ianto accidentally choked on his pasta from laughing at one of Jack's lame jokes, causing both of them to laugh after Ianto saved himself from his peril. The food was splendid, and the setting was quite romantic with all its candle light, fine wine, and violin and piano music. Despite the bad start, this anniversary was among the best in Ianto's opinion.

As the couple took their leave, Jack took Ianto's hand and pulled him in a different direction than the parking lot. Ianto slightly stumbled from Jack's somewhat hurried and enthusiastic pace.

"Jack?"

"I want to show you something before the night ends," Jack reassured, practically dragging Ianto along with him.

"All right then…"

It took very little time for them to arrive at Jack's desired destination and Ianto had to say, he was impressed. They had reached the center of a nearby park (whose name currently eluded Ianto) and though it was normally already grand and spectacular during the day, it was more than that and simply breathtaking at this time. There were many lights strung about and those lights caused the water from the fountain they stood by to glow with an abnormal light. The flowers were still a bit wet from the rain earlier in the evening and the lights made them almost sparkle. It was truly a marvelous sight.

"Is this why you were late?" Ianto asked, looking around his surroundings in awe.

Jack nodded and asked nervously, "Do you like it? I'm not that great at being overly romantic, but I tried."

"It's perfect Jack," Ianto said, turning around and planting a kiss on Jack's lips.

The kiss didn't last as long as Ianto had hoped, Jack having pulled away rather quickly.

"Hold onto your kisses for later. There's something I want to do first," Jack explained with an all-knowing smile.

Ianto became perplexed once again and curious about whatever it was that Jack wanted to do. Before he could speak or ask, however, Jack produced a small black box from his pocket and got down on one knee. All thoughts and words stopped in their tracks. Ianto's breath caught in his throat as Jack nervously began to speak.

"Ianto, today marks the day we first met. Six year ago, I was just an ex-soldier boy from the States trying to learn more about the world and you were just a college student trying to make a little cash bartending at a night club. Under normal circumstances, we should have never met and yet we did. I knew from the moment I met you that you were special and I'm so happy we met; I really am," Jack said, smiling warmly to the shocked Ianto, "You didn't have to take me in when I was at my lowest and you did. You didn't have to be with me and yet you said yes. Since meeting you and being with you… I've never been happier in my life. So, I ask you… will you be happy with me and be mine forever? Jones, Ianto Jones, will you marry me?"

The silence must have felt like forever for Jack as Ianto said nothing. Not a single word was spoken from Ianto. However, Jack received his answer soon enough as the Welshman leapt into his arms and crashed their lips together. It was an obvious yes.

* * *

_Did you enjoy the one-shot? Was it any good? Let me know and drop a review! I'd really appreciate it. :) Thanks!_


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